Margalla Hills National Park | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Monday set aside a Supreme Court (SC) judgment from August 2024 that had paved the way for the demolition of infrastructure developed by the Monal Group of Companies, La Montana and Gloria Jeans inside the picturesque Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP). The SC had ordered the closure of Monal and the adjacent La Montana restaurant on August 21, 2024, and they were closed the next month to protect the park’s biodiversity. A bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Syed Arshad Hussain Shah had taken up review petitions filed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI). The petitions challenged the SC’s directions to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) to take possession of the restaurants — namely Monal, La Montana and Gloria Jeans — located inside the park. The CDA and the Islamabad Capital Territory Police were also directed to assist the wildli...

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Thursday questioned a 2024 judgment of the Supreme Court (SC) which had paved the way for demolishing the infrastructure developed by the Monal Group of Companies, La Montana and Gloria Jeans, inside the picturesque Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP). The SC had ordered the closure of Monal and the adjacent La Montana restaurant on August 21, 2024, and they were closed the next month to protect the park’s biodiversity. Headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, a three-judge FCC bench took up a review petition moved by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) challenging the Supreme Court’s (SC) directions to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) to take possession of restaurants — namely Monal, La Montana and Gloria Jeans — situated inside the MHNP. The CDA and the Islamabad Capital Territory Police were also ordered to assist the wildlife board in this regard. The SC had also ordered that the entrances to the area where the restaurants were locate...